Ozobot - Too much firmware makes Evo a dull boy

Help & Support Robot Toys
1

So, I got my little guy the Ozobot Evo for his birthday, he has been playing with it for a few days and he is over the moon with it.

A few nights ago I decided I would try the App. I connected the Evo and upgraded the firmware (from 1.2 to 1.3, then 1.13, I believe), played with the drive feature and annoyed my wife, but when I disconnect it from the App, all it will do is follow the black lines, it won’t do ANYTHING ELSE, it just has the head LED on light blue, sometimes it will wander a little but then it stops!

When we unboxed it it immediately would:

  • turn on blue LEDs and follow your finger furiously (which my son loves)
  • scan light blue LEDs every once in a while, like he is looking for something
  • turn on red LEDs and run away from you
  • turn a yellow LED on and make wide circles.
  • play music sometimes and allow you to change it via the sensors
  • randomly wander around and make funny sounds if left alone on the table for a few seconds, execute different tricks without intervention

How do I get it back to working without the App! My son is 4 and doesn’t have a phone!

  1. I tried going to ozo.bot/follow-trick and loading it through the tablet. It flashes green through out and then beeps and turns off. Can never get it to execute the trick.

  2. I contacted Ozoblocky support and I was referred to this page:
    https://blog.ozobot.com/2017/10/20/evo-updates/
    I get how they added the feature of being able to choose the program to run without the app, but is that the only way it will do tricks? When I select 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 it does nothing.

  3. Support also suggested that I turn on Wifi on my device, but for now I only have a device with bluetooth and internet via LTE. Once I borrow one I will try selecting the programs as a favorite, though I don’t know if that will put him back to normal or only when initiated via the manual sequence (active all proximity sensors + press the power button the number of times according to program number)

  4. Also Ozobot support said that they can’t downgrade the firmware and they changed the behavior based on customer feedback so it can be used as an educational toy. Also that it is made for 9+ year olds. I found it fun for kids of all ages, I had many adults watch it to see what it would do next, including my wife, until the firmware upgrade made it so dull I don’t know how it will capture the attention of any kid.

  5. Tried the tune up option in the App. It always says an update is available, but I continue on firmware 1.13 after the tune up. But I have found that it helps after I try to load a program via flashing on the Ozoblocky editor and it gets stunned and won’t even wander. After 1 or two tune ups it will start to wander.

  6. I just found out about classroom mode and I’m thinking that my bot might be stuck in it.
    Because I see no difference in behavior when I turn classroom mode on or off, and it is supposed to make it less sociable and stop it from performing tricks.

I contacted support about that, so let’s see if there is something they suggest, but have not been helpful thus far.

Any help is much appreciated!

Dad in trouble

2

Hopefully they have not replied because it’s the weekend. Keep us posted if they reply and are / are not able to resolve the issue.

3

They have replied and have not been able to solve the issue.

Does anyone have experience with the bots? Is there a way to get it back to the original factory settings or Flash it with an earlier version of the firmware.

It used to be “ready to play” and we loved it but after the firmware update it is more like “ready to follow orders”. My little boy says it must be scared he doesn’t realize it is more of a comma.

4

Having the same problem after the update. Have you heard anything back yet?

5

Their support responded quickly, but they keep on saying there is no downgrade possible. This is just how it works now. The program has to be selected by:

  • covering all sensors;
  • waiting for the 5 LEDs to turn on:
  • waiting for the sound indicator;
  • then pressing the power button 1-5 times depending on the program you want to run;

Good luck getting my 4 year old to do that. When I argued that, they said it is intended for 9+. So I guess I will have to wait 5 years.

I learnt a couple things:

  1. The device running the app needs to have both bluetooth and wifi enabled in order to upload programs to Evo. I borrowed an android device to do this and I have been able to load the “follow” program to slot 1. I’m not sure how, because the App shows 8 programs and 5 of them selected as favorites but the only one I can launch by pressing the power button is slot 1. Slots 2-5 do nothing.

  2. They say they changed the behavior due to feedback received, this way is better for the classroom experience. There is a “classroom mode” that can be toggled on and off though the App. According to their documentation the classroom mode makes it “less social”.
    I suggested that mine might be stuck in “classroom mode” because it doesn’t get less social than this and I sent them a video of how it doesn’t do anything but follow the lines.
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By6WB1hmo22NRXBFYWRMTUhlZnhQWndBV2RtZ3F6TW9uV1dV

In my last interaction with support they asked for a screenshot of the screen on the App where you set your favorite programs 1-5. I’m waiting for the family member whose device I borrowed before to run the App again and take that screenshot.

I’ll keep this thread updated.

6

Hi
I’ve gut just the same issue
Even worse, I cannot even connect to the Android device after upgrade, but it definitely worked before.
I’ve contacted the support, but nothing helped
When I connect it to iPhone it is trying to upgrade but it doesn’t work…
I was wandering which is the latest version of the firmware?
Mine is 1.17

Btw, I’ve found a way to connect it to my PC via Bluetooth
Not for 4 years old, but it’s fun for 7 and older

7

@Realbuddy Welcome to the RobotShop Community. If you’re in direct contact with the manufacturer’s technical support, they are the experts regarding their robots. Suggest following up with them with as many details as you can provide.